Materialism - Our Forgotten Foundation

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The purpose of this booklet is to bring to the attention of the Advent people, both ministers and laypersons alike, one of the oft forgotten foundations of our faith; that being, materialism. In short, our faith as Seventh-day Adventists has been built within the framework of metaphysical materialism, the belief that all things in the universe are composed of only one type of fundamental substance – matter. This stands in contrast with idealistic philosophies, which submit that all things are ultimately non-physical, and dualistic philosophies, which espouse the existence of both the physical and the non-physical.

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Materialism - Our Forgotten Foundation

Uploaded by

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The purpose of this booklet is to bring to the attention of the Advent people, both ministers and laypersons alike, one of the oft forgotten foundations of our faith; that being, materialism. In short, our faith as Seventh-day Adventists has been built within the framework of metaphysical materialism, the belief that all things in the universe are composed of only one type of fundamental substance – matter. This stands in contrast with idealistic philosophies, which submit that all things are ultimately non-physical, and dualistic philosophies, which espouse the existence of both the physical and the non-physical.

Materialism

Our Forgotten Foundation

The Pioneers Speak

The purpose of this booklet is to bring to the attention of the Advent

people, both ministers and laypersons alike, one of the oft forgottenfoundations of our faith; that being, materialism. In short, our faith asSeventh-day Adventists has been built within the framework ofmetaphysical materialism, the belief that all things in the universe arecomposed of only one type of fundamental substance matter. Thisstands in contrast with idealistic philosophies, which submit that allthings are ultimately non-physical, and dualistic philosophies, whichespouse the existence of both the physical and the non-physical.Herein you will fnd a non-exhaustive compilation of quotations from thewritings of the Seventh-day Adventist pioneers in which they explain,defend, and advocate materialism on the basis of evident facts, soundreasoning, and Scripture. Thus, by reproducing these important articlesand statements, we seek to bring to light three main points: (1) that theSeventh-day Adventist faith is thoroughly and strictly materialist, (2) thatthe Scriptures are also equally and plainly materialistic, and (3) thatmaterialism is both true and of immense importance.

Since all the contents herein are quotations, we have decided not to usequotation marks for the selections from the pioneers, but have instead preservedthe quotation marks within their own writings as they appear in the original.

Compilation by Trent Wilde

Copyright, 2016www.bdsda.com

Materialism Our Forgotten Foundation

Ellen White on Pioneer Testimony

We are now to understand what the pillars of our faith are,thetruths that have made us as a people what we are, leading us on stepby step. - Ellen White, Review and Herald, May 25. 1905, par. 23When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from thefoundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the agedmen who were pioneers in our work speak plainly, and let those whoare dead speak also by reprinting of their articles in our periodicals.Gather up the rays of divine light that God has given as He has ledHis people on step by step in the way of truth. This truth will stand thetest of time and trial. - Ellen White, Ms62-1905

B.F. RobbinsMATERIALISMTHERE is scarcely a subject in the range of Bible investigationmore unpopular, and which excites more opposition in the professedChristian world, than the subject at the head of this article. It is calledinfdelity and atheism, while its believers are looked upon withsuspicion and contempt. A minister of my acquaintance who a fewmonths ago was favorable and publicly committed himself to theScripture view of death and consequent unconsciousness, retractedupon the ground that such doctrines avowed must of course lead tomaterialism. This we of course admit, and the other conclusion whichhe also avowed we admit, that materialism is opposed and subversiveof the faith of the professed Christian world, because that faith isbased upon immateriality or nothing.But what is the popular faith on this subject? I would answer in thelanguage of Dr. Chalmers. "The common idea of paradise is that of alofty aerial region, where the inmates foat in ether, or aremysteriously suspended upon nothing, where all the warm andsensible accompaniments which give such an expression of strengthand life and coloring to our present world are attenuated into a sort ofspiritual element that is meager and imperceptible and utterlyuninviting to the eye of mortals here, where every vestige ofmaterialism is done away, and nothing left but certain unearthlyscenes that have no power of allurement, and certain unearthly

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ecstasies with which it is impossible to sympathize.

"The holders of this imagination forget all the while that reallythere is no essential connection between materialism and sin; that theworld which we now inhabit had all the amplitude and solidity of itspresent materialism before sin entered into it; that God so far on thataccount from looking slightly upon it after it had received the lasttouch of his creating hand, reviewed the earth and all the greenherbage, with the living creatures and the man whom he had raised indominion over them, and he saw every thing that he had made, andbehold it was all very good."They forget all the while that on the birth of materialism, when itstood out in the freshness of those glories which the great Architect ofnature had impressed upon it, that then the 'morning stars sangtogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.'"They forget the appeals that are made everywhere in the Bible tothis material workmanship, and how from the face of these visibleheavens, and the garniture of this earth upon which we tread, thegreatness and goodness of God are refected on the view of hisworshipers."No, the object of the administration we are under, is to extirpatesin, but not to sweep away materialism; the fres of the last day maymelt its solid elements until they are utterly dissolved, but out of theruins of this second chaos another earth will arise a new materialismin beauty and magnifcence a 'new heavens and new earth whereindwelleth righteousness.'But a Bible view of this subject makes it plain and clear; for a Biblefaith is founded upon glorious realities, and not upon materialshadows.Heb. 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, theevidence of things not seen." Here true faith is fxed upon things, uponthings substantial; and hope looks for a substance, and notimmateriality. This is evident when we consider the object of faith andhope as mentioned by Paul in this chapter; for by faith Enoch andNoah and Abraham with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him of thesame promise, "looked for a city which hath foundations, whosebuilder and maker is God," the same city which Isaiah prophesied ofin the 65th chapter, and that John saw and described in its literal,material glories, as coming down from God out of heaven. Paul saysalso in Heb. 11:14-16, "For they that say such things (that they are

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pilgrims and strangers) declare plainly that they seek a country. Andtruly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they cameout they might have had opportunity to return. But now they desire abetter country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed tobe called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city." Here thefaith of the ancient worthies, the model faith for all believers, fxeditself upon realities; and hope looked for a country and a city,implying materialism.But another evidence that materialism enters into the faith andhope of the true believer, is the promise of "new heavens and newearth wherein dwelleth righteousness." The promise is in Isaiah 65:19,etc, "For behold I create new heavens and a new earth," etc. The newearth in this promise is the country looked for by Paul's worthies, andis material; because in verse 21 it says, "And they shall build housesand inhabit them, they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them,"etc.I know that the popular faith objects to this prophecy as descriptiveof the world to come; but the application of the promise by the apostlesettles the question to my mind, and I leave the controversy betweenthem and the apostle. He says, after affrming the dissolution of theheavens and the earth which are now, "Nevertheless we according tohis promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwellethrighteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. John says, "I saw a new heavens and anew earth," etc. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell withthem," etc. Rev. 21:1-3. "And there shall be no more curse, but thethrone of God and the Lamb shall be in it." Rev. 22:3. Herematerialism is honored and glorifed to become the dwelling place ofthe glorious God, and the seat of his regal authority and power.Again; materialism is an essential element in the faith and hope ofthe true believer in regard to the resurrection from the dead. SaysChalmers, "The resurrection will purify our materialism from the taintof corruption inherited from the frst Adam, and which is now spreadabroad over the whole human family. The old fabric must be takendown and reared anew, and that not of other materials, but of its ownmaterials only delivered of all impurity. It is thus that what is 'sown inweakness is raised in power.' 'It is sown in corruption (or of corruptiblematerial), it is raised in incorruption (or incorruptible material).' Mark,it is the same it; 'It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.' 'For this

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corruptible (what! this materiality?) must put on incorruption, and this

mortal must put on immortality. Then will be brought to pass thesaying which is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.'" Here thenthe evidence is conclusive. This corruptible materiality is to beincorruptible or immortal, and the children born in the resurrectionare to possess form, tangibility and identity.But there is a crowning glory to materialism overlooked by ouropponents, and denied by many of them; Jesus Christ is in possessionof materiality; for "he took not on him the nature of angels, but hetook on him the seed of Abraham." He was in the world in thepalpable form and structure of a man, and took with him that sameform to the place which he now occupies at the right hand of theFather. That very human form marked by the nails upon the cross,and wherewith he ate and drank with his disciples, now wields thewhole power both in heaven and earth, and before the glorifedhumanity or materiality of Jesus every knee must bow, and everytongue confess to the glory of God the Father.Yes, and that humanity, that embodied and substantial humanity,will be the center of universal praise and adoration from all creatures,for ever and ever. Amen.Now we ask, Does this look like the abolition of materialism afterthe present system of it is destroyed? Does it not rather prove that inthe world to come it will be preferred to celestial honors, andprolonged in immortality to all eternity?Now to me, the charges against us by our opponents so tenaciouslyurged and repeated, of infdelity and atheism, come from them withan ill grace, to say the least; for certainly the light from the word ofGod repels these imputations from us, while they recoil upon them.Honestly do I believe that the doctrine of immateriality as taught bythem, and which has become so popular in the professed Christianworld, to be subversive of the whole Christian faith as taught in theword of God; because their views are not even professedly based upona literal interpretation of that word, but upon a mystical or spiritualinterpretation, and thus their views become a mere conjecture, thingsof mere fancy and imagination without any foundation for faith, orsure ground for hope.Cheerfully then will we patiently submit to the imputations andscorn of our opponents. They now have the power, and their infuencemay affx the brand of infdelity in the estimation of the unthinking

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multitude upon us; but our faith is the same as that of the ancientworthies which was approved and honored by the Spirit of inspiration,and will fnally be found unto praise and honor and glory at theappearing of Jesus Christ. Amen.1

J.N. LoughboroughThe frst mention made of man in the Bible is in the account of thelabor of the sixth day, Gen. 1:26. "And God said, let us make man inour image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion. etc.," Verse27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of Godcreated he him; male and female created he them." What is meant bysaying God created man in his own image? According to the faith ofthe Church, it cannot be that literally man was made in the form ofGod; for the Discipline states, "There is but one living and true God,without body or parts," and some say without passions. If this be thecase, then man's being in the image of God, must have some otherexplanation, than that his form was like God. It has been claimed thatthis was a moral image; that is, man was formed with a character likeGod; and as God is immortal, man, to be like him morally, must alsobe immortal. Moral pertains to character. Although the word states,God pronounced all his work very good, yet man, as we shall show,was left to form his own character.But in carrying out this matter we wish to inquire further in regardto man's creation. Gen. 2:7 states, "And the Lord God formed man ofthe dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;and man became a living soul." If the image of God referred to inchapter frst is a mortal image, then the dust of the ground was in themoral image of God. Man was in the image of God before the breathof life was breathed into him; afterwards he is called a living soul. Wesee at once that this image of God in which man is formed cannot be amoral image; for it would involve the absurdity that inanimate matterpossessed a character like God. If it be a fact that man was madeliterally in the image of God, we have been taught wrong in regard tothe nature of that God.This leads us to the investigation of the necessary inquiry,IS GOD A PERSON?1

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 19, 1860

Materialism Our Forgotten Foundation

Whatever may be the truth in this matter, it certainly cannot be

wrong for us to examine what the Word says respecting it. Many thereare that would refrain from the investigation of unpopular truthsbecause the cry of heresy is raised against them. We shall not considerourselves subjects of the appellation, neither are we prying into thesecrets of the Almighty, as we pursue the investigation of this matter.The Bible certainly contains testimony upon this point, and we againrepeat, "Things which are revealed belong to us." We inquire then,What saith the Scripture?The very testimony we have been examining in regard to man'sbeing formed of the dust in the image of God, proves conclusively thatGod has a form, although the sentiment is contrary to what we havebeen taught, while children, from the catechism:"Question. What is God?"Answer. An infnite and eternal spirit; one that always was andalways will be."Q. Where is God?"A. Everywhere."But we inquire, Is not God in one place more than another? Ohno, say you: the Bible says he is a spirit, and if so he must beeverywhere alike. Well, if when man dies his spirit goes to God, itmust go everywhere. But the Bible certainly represents God as locatedin heaven. "For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;from heaven did the Lord behold the earth." Ps. 102:19. Thencertainly heaven cannot be everywhere, for God is represented aslooking down from it. "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2Kings 2:11. But, says one, does not the Bible represent God aseverywhere present? Ps. 139:8, 9, 10. "If I ascend up into heaven, thouart there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there; if I take thewings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, eventhere shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."We reply, the subject is introduced in verse 7, as follows: "Whithershall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I fee from thy presence?"The Spirit is God's representative. His power is manifested whereverhe listeth, through the agency of his Spirit. Christ, when giving thecommission to the disciples, says, "Go ye into all the world, andpreach the gospel to every creature, and lo! I am with you alway, evenunto the end of the world. Now, no one would contend that Christhad been on the earth personally ever since the disciples commenced

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to fulfll this commission. But his Spirit has been on the earth; theComforter that he promised to send. So in the same manner Godmanifests himself by his Spirit which is also the power through whichhe works. "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the deaddwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quickenyour mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Rom. 8:11.Here is a plain distinction made between the Spirit, and God thatraises the dead by that Spirit. If the living God is a Spirit in thestrictest sense of the term, and at the same time is in possession of aSpirit, then we have at once the novel idea of the Spirit of a Spirit,something it will take at least a Spiritualist to explain.There is at least one impassable diffculty in the way of those whobelieve God is immaterial, and heaven is not a literal, located place:they are obliged to admit that Jesus is there bodily, a literal person; thesame Jesus that was crucifed, dead, and buried, was raised from thedead, ascended up to heaven, and is now at the right hand of God.Jesus was possessed of fesh and bones after his resurrection. Luke24:39. "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I, myself; handle me,and see; for a spirit hath not fesh and bones as ye see me have." IfJesus is there in heaven with a literal body of fesh and bones, may notheaven after all be a literal place, a habitation for a literal God, aliteral Saviour, literal angels, and resurrected immortal saints! Oh no,says one, "God is a Spirit." So Christ said to the woman of Samaria atthe well. It does not necessarily follow because God is a Spirit, that hehas no body. In John iii, 6, Christ says to Nicodemus, "That which isborn of the Spirit is spirit." If that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,then on the same principle, that which has a spiritual nature is spirit.God is a spirit being, his nature is spirit, he is not of a mortal nature;but this does not exclude the idea of his having a body. David says,[Ps. 104:4,] "Who maketh his angels spirits;" yet angels have bodies.Angels appeared to Both Abraham and Lot, and ate with them. Wesee the idea that angels are spirits, does not prove that they are notliteral beings.It is inferred because the Bible says that God is a Spirit, that he isnot a person. An inference should not be made the basis for anargument. Great Scripture truths are plainly stated, and it will not dofor us to found a doctrine on inferences, contrary to positivestatements in the word of God. If the Scripture states in positive termsthat God is a person, it will not answer for us to draw an inference

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from the text which says "God is a Spirit," that he has no body.We will now present a few texts which prove that God is a person.Ex. 33:18, 23. "And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee shew me thyglory." Verse 20. "And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for thereshall no man see me and live." Verses 21-23. "And the Lord said,Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and itshall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in acleft of the rock; and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; andI will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but myface shall not be seen." If God is an immaterial Spirit, then Mosescould not see him; for we are told a spirit cannot be seen by naturaleyes. There would then be no propriety for God to say he would puthis hand over Moses' face while he passed by, (seemingly to preventhim from seeing his face,) for he could not see him. Neither do weconceive how an immaterial hand could obstruct the rays of light frompassing to Moses' eyes. But if the position be true that God isimmaterial, and cannot be seen by the natural eye, the text above is allsuperfuous. What sense is there in saying God put his hand overMoses' face, to prevent him from seeing that which could not be seen.Says one, I see we cannot harmonize the matter any other way,that that there was a literal body seen by Moses; but that was notGod's own body, it was a body he took that he might show himself toMoses. Moses could form no just conceptions of God unless heassumed a form. So God took a body. This throws a worse coloring onthe matter than the frst position; for it charges God with deception;telling Moses he should see him, when in fact Moses according to thistestimony did not see God, but another body. A person must be givento doubt almost beyond recovery, that would attempt thus to mystify,and do away with the force of this testimony.Ex. 24:9. "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu,and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God of Israel: andthere was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone,and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness." They werepermitted to see his feet, but no man can see his face and live. Nomortal eye can bear the dazzling brightness of the glory of the face ofGod. It far exceeds the light of the sun. For the prophet says, "Thelight of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of thesun shall be seven fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that theLord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of

Materialism Our Forgotten Foundation

their wound." Isa. 30:26. Notwithstanding this seven-fold light that is

then to shine, the prophet speaking of the scene says, "Then the moonshall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hostsshall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancientsgloriously." Isa. 24:23. The testimony of John is [Rev. 21:23.] "Andthe city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: forthe glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."Infdels claim that there is a contradiction in the testimony ofMoses, because he said, he talked with God face to face. We reply,there was a cloud between them, but God told Moses, "No man shaltsee me and live." The Testimony of the New Testament is in harmonywith that of the Old upon this subject. "Follow peace with all men,and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." Heb. 12:14.Who with mortal eyes could behold a light that far outshines sevenfold the brightness of the sun? Surely none but the holy can beholdhim, none but immortal eyes could bear that radiant glory. Althoughthe Word says we cannot see God now and live, the promise is, thatthe pure in heart shall see him. Matt. 5:3. "Blessed are the pure inheart, for they shall see God." Rev. 22:4. "And they shall see his face,and his name shall be in their foreheads."Paul, [Col. 1:15.] speaking of Christ, says, "Who is the image of theinvisible God, the frst born of every creature." Here Christ is said tobe "the image of the invisible God." We have already shown, thatChrist has a body composed of substance, fesh and bones; and he issaid to be, "the image of the invisible God." Well, says one, we admithis divine nature is in the image of God. If by his divine nature youmean the part that existed in glory with the Father before the worldwas, we reply, that which was in the beginning with God, (the Word,)was made fesh, not came into fesh, or as some state, clothed uponwith a human nature, but made fesh. But says another, God is said tobe invisible. Because he is invisible now, it does not prove that henever will be seen. The Word says, "The pure in heart shall see" him.Willing faith says, Amen.Paul's testimony in Phil. 2:5, 6, shows plainly what may be understood by the statement, that Christ is the image of God. "Let this mindbe in you which was in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God,thought it not robbery to be equal with God." How can Christ be saidto be in the form of God, if God has no form! Rom. 8:3. "God sendinghis own Son in the likeness of sinful fesh." Christ is in the form of God,

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and in the form of men. This at once reveals to us the form of God.Daniel speaking of God, calls him the Ancient of days. Dan. 7:9."And the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,and the hair of his head like the pure wool." This personage is said tohave a head, and hair; this certainly could not be said of him if he wasimmaterial and had no form. But Paul's testimony in Heb. i, 3, oughtto settle every candid mind in regard to the personality of God.Speaking of Christ, he says, "Who being the brightness of his glory,and the express image of his (the Father's) person." Here then it isplainly stated God has a person. Christ is the express image of it. Thenwe can understand Christ where he says, "He that hath seen me, hathseen the Father." John 14:19. He could not have meant, that he washis own father; for when he prayed he addressed his Father as anotherperson who had sent him into the world. He styled himself the Son ofGod. Then he could not be the Father of which he was the son. Whenhe says, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father," he must mean,that as he was the express image of the Father's person, those who sawhim saw the likeness of the Father in him.But we will now return to the subject of The creation of man. Wehave seen already that man's being made in the image of God, couldnot refer to a moral image, for it would involve the absurdity that thelifeless clay of which man was formed, had a character like God. Wenow see the Scriptures clearly teach, that God is a person with a bodyand form. Then Gen. 1:26, may be understood to teach the fact, thatman was made in the form of God. Other scriptures agree with thistestimony. See Gen. 9:6. "whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shallhis blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." Thistestimony cannot apply to a spirit, or immaterial part of man: thatwhich is the image of God has blood. 1 Cor. 11:7. "For a man indeedought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory ofGod." James [Chap. 3:9] speaking of the tongue says, "Therewithbless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, whichare made after the similitude (likeness, resemblance-Webster) of God."The foregoing testimony settles the point, that the image of God doesnot refer to character but to form.2Says the objector, your testimony from Scripture seems to show2

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that Adam was not created immortal, yet I believe we are immortal.We inquire, from what source do we derive our immortality? It mustbe either inherent, derived from Adam, or else it comes to us directlyfrom God. We reply, we did not get it from Adam; for he did not haveit himself. If he had immortality, and imparted it to us, his posterity,then the soul cannot be immaterial as claimed by the advocates ofnatural immortality. Immaterial is the opposite of material. Material issomething; matter; has length, breadth and thickness; and one of itsproperties is said by Philosophers to be Divisibility. Immaterial, is theopposite, not material, not matter: then it does not possess thoseproperties. Matter is capable of subdivisions; for divisibility is one of itsproperties. But immateriality being the opposite, is subject to no suchdivisions. Then if the soul of Adam was immaterial, it was notsusceptible of subdivisions so as to give immortality to his posterity.Then if man has an immortal soul or spirit, it must come direct fromthe hand of the Creator at the birth of each individual. This positionwould be monstrous; for they tell us the soul is the life of the person,and unless this soul was imparted there would be no life. Thus we seethat God is charged with giving souls to every being that lives, nomatter how miserable their birth. And again, they tell us the soul is themind: then some of these souls must be very limited in intellect whenformed, as appears by the idiotic portion of the community.One great reason urged that man is in possession of some principleof a higher nature than matter, is that man thinks; and with all candorwe are told that matter cannot think, has not the power of self-motion,and would eternally remain inactive, were it not for the immortalpower of volition which man possesses. We enquire. Do beasts possessan immortal will? They certainly have the power to will and movetheir bodies about. Philosophers have only given us the properties ofunorganized matter; but every one must admit, that by combinationof matter, results are produced, and properties made manifest, whichdid not exist in the original matter unorganized. Organized in acertain form, matter is made to produce music, and yet music is not aproperty of matter, but is the result of a peculiar organization ofmatter. But says one, "The music is not in the material instrument, butin the mind." But the mind does not produce the sound: sound isproduced as the result of the organization of the materials of theinstrument, the air being the medium through which it is conveyed tothe nice organism of the ear, and there the mind takes cognizance of

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those sounds.But says the objector, Mans reason, is capable of choosing andrefusing. We reply. The same may be said of beasts; they choose. But,say you, this manifestation of knowledge in them is instinct. Is instincta property of matter? Instinct as it is termed, if traced through thefamily of the brute creation, would be found to exist in a variety offorms, and so nearly allied in some, to the operations of the humanmind, that some men would doubtless call it reason. But few, however,would contend that beasts possess immortal souls. Then instinct as it istermed, is the result of organization, and yet in some animals ispronounced reason. Then we inquire, if beasts are in possession ofintellect without immortal souls, why may not man with anorganization more refned, and a greater number of reasoningfaculties, be in possession of reason, and intellect of a higher tone, andyet not be immortal? We do not wish to be charged with the position,that we claim mind is material; for we do not. We believe, however,that thought is an effect produced by material organization. For thiswe will assign our reasons briefy. 1st. The mind is developed inproportion to the volume of brain, and temperament of the body. Thebrain of an ordinary man is about one twentieth part the size of thebody, while that of the horse is only one two-hundredth part.If the mind was immortal, and not the result of the action of thebody, why should earnest study cause weariness of body? If thecontrary were the case, that the mind exists independent of the body,and that the body was as a clog to the powers of that spirit, as hasbeen claimed, then we should expect the nearer death we came, thebrighter the intellect would be; but we fnd it the reverse. A soundmind in a sound body expresses the truth of this matter.There is one fact that cannot be explained in harmony with thetheory, that the mind is not dependent upon matter for its existence.When the skull of man becomes fractured, and depressed upon thebrain, the sufferer is immediately unconscious, and yet the breath oflife is in him. Many curious circumstances might be related,illustrative of this point, of individuals who remained unconscious fordays, and after being restored to their senses again, were not consciousthat any time had elapsed. We refer the reader to Mental Philosophyfor testimonies upon this subject. What folly to talk of the mind of manbeing immortal, and independent in its existence, if disease of thebody can affect it. What a sentiment to teach, that a man is conscious

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after death, when the facts are, injury of the brain makes a manunconscious while living.But we return to the Bible. Our reasoning would be but vain,except it were in harmony with the Word of inspiration. We havealready seen that the Scriptures do not tell us that man is in possessionof immortality in his present state of existence, but they exhort him toseek for it. Doubtless this sentiment is contrary to the early teaching ofmost of our readers. We have been taught, "The body is mortal, it willsoon die; the soul is immortal, it can never die." The Bible, however,contradicts this sentiment. Eze. 18:4, 20. "Behold all souls are mine, asthe soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine, the soul thatsinneth it shall die." Here theologians have found themselves in adiffculty, and to extricate themselves from it, have stated that thedeath of the soul, was the death that never dies. What death is that?We should consider it a contradiction of terms, and that there was nodeath about it. What would you think if some one should begin to talkto you about a person, and tell you they lived a life that never lived?You would certainly think the person was not yet born. So with theexpression, death that never dies," it carries with it the idea of eternallife.3The frst question, and one that is very properly asked ininvestigating the subject before us is, Where are the saints to berewarded! With those that hold to the immortality of the soul, thesentiment has been taught according to the language of the poet, thatthe inheritance of the saints is"Beyond the bounds of time and space;Look forward to that heavenly place,The saints' secure abode."If we had found it to be a fact, that the man to be rewarded was animmaterial soul, of course we should have to claim that the saints'inheritance was as immaterial as that which was to be rewarded. And,without doubt, beyond the bounds of time and space, is just thatwhich would reward an immaterial soul; viz., nothing.In this investigation we have found that the Bible treats men as aunit, and as a literal being. In the resurrection he is to be literallyraised, with a body of fesh and bones. Such a being cannot be3

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rewarded with immateriality, or with what has been commonly

described as heaven. Says God, [Prov. 8:29, 21,] "I lead in the way ofrighteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may causethose that love me to inherit SUBSTANCE." The testimony of Christis, in Matt. 5:5, when pronouncing blessings upon different characters,"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."4Where shall we learn that any immaterial part has ever been givento man? There is certainly no text in the Scriptures that states it, andthis account of creation shows that the combined substances of manare "dust of the ground," and "breath." But we learn from Eld. K.something concerning Gen. 1:27, which no individual could ever havelearned by reading the text, namely, that "the human soul is a createdessence." He says, "God is a spirit. There can be no resemblancebetween gross matter, such as composes the human body, and purespirit; it must then have been the soul that was in the image of God."But this statement has its origin in the assumption that whatever isspirit, must be immaterial and has no form. Paul states, Heb. 1:7,"Who maketh his angels spirits," but when angels appeared toAbraham he supposed them to be men. We read concerning Christ inHeb. 1:31, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the expressimage of his PERSON," etc. From this we should understand thatalthough "God is a Spirit," he has a form. But Paul tells us plainly inPhil. 2:5, "Who being in the FORM of God, thought it not robbery tobe equal with God." Here is plain testimony that God has a form, andthis is plainly implied in Gen. 1:26,27. "God created man in his ownimage." Gen. 2:7. "The Lord formed man of the dust." Here is truthplainly stated, that man made of DUST was in the image of God. ButEld. K. sees no way to maintain his position but to deny this. 5

Uriah SmithTHINGSTHE word, things, when used otherwise than to denote actions orevents, signifes, according to Webster, "any substance, that which iscreated, any particular article or commodity." A thing, then, is45

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something which has substance; it has length, breadth, and thickness;

it occupies space; it can be measured, seen, felt, and handled. It ismatter, and possesses all the properties of matter. Among every peopleon the earth, thing means something material and tangible; and inevery book on the face of the globe when the reader meets with thisword, he attaches to it, and correctly, too, a similar meaning. I saidevery book; perhaps one must be excepted: for there is a book whichin common with all others uses this word, and in which it is made tomean something entirely different, or rather, nothing. That book is theBible; and whether it is lawful to thus change the meaning of thisword, when found in this book, from that which is given to it in allother books, and under all other circumstances, is the point inquestion.To illustrate, see Col. 3:1: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seekthose things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand ofGod." Things above! What! are there things above? No, says therarefed theology of the present day; there is immateriality above andnothing more. There is an immaterial heaven, an immaterial God andChrist, immaterial angels, and immaterial spirits of dead people. Butthe text speaks of things above. Can these things by any process beevaporated into the immateriality which the popular belief attaches tothem? It cannot certainly be done by the defnition of the word; forthat signifes any substance, something actual and real, and it cannotbe done by its use as applied to any object on this earth; for here italways means something material, something that has body and parts.There seems then to be no reason for the meaning that is attached tothe word things when applied to objects above, save the mysteriousbelief that substance and reality are incompatible with the state of theblessed; and no reason can be given for this belief except the fact of itsown existence; but behind this fact it thus entrenches itself; and whileit forbids all questioning as to the right of its existence, it holds thetheological world in slavery to its mystical demands.Perhaps, however, this theory is wrong, and the Bible right.Perhaps the word things, when found in that book, with noconceivable reason to affect its signifcation, may mean the same as inany other book. The arbitrary claim of the popular view is set forthstill more strikingly in the following verse, which reads: "Set youraffection on things above, not on things on the earth." Things aboveand things on the earth. What do we understand by things on the

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earth? Anything immaterial and invisible? None will so claim; but

things real and tangible. By what principle, therefore, can thingsabove, in the antithetical portion of the sentence, be construed tomean just the reverse? When things means something in one place,how can it in just three words from where it is so used, mean nothingat all. Let every lover of consistency who is troubled with themysticism that has been thrown over the word of God, consider thispoint.Other scriptures bear testimony to the reality of heavenly things.Peter, in his frst epistle 1:4, speaks of an inheritance incorruptible andundefled, reserved in heaven for us. In Heb. 9:34, Paul says, "For yehad compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling ofyour goods, knowing in yourselves, that ye have in heaven, a betterand an enduring substance." This language is unmistakable: we havein heaven not immateriality and nonentity, but a substance. And whenPaul would set before us the hope that inspired the worthies of old, hespeaks of it in contrast with this earth, as "a country," a "bettercountry," a "heavenly country." Strange language, if this earth is theonly real and substantial thing of the two. He also tells us that theylooked for, not an airy nothing, but a tangible city; not founded onnothing, but one which had foundations, whose builder and makerwas God.Yes, there are things above. We can rejoice in the glorious hope ofsomething real, something upon which a scriptural, sober, andintelligent faith can lay hold, an inheritance as literal as the earth uponwhich we now tread, glorifed as infnite power, exerted in infnitewisdom can alone do it, where we shall know as we are known, andwith the fne strung sensibilities of the redeemed, be enabled toappreciate the exquisite joys that dwell in the presence of God, and athis right hand forevermore.Things above. But perhaps some one may ask, May there not bethings somewhere above, and yet heaven itself be the intangible,spiritual place it is commonly supposed? Let the apostle answer. Hetells us in the very text under notice, the defnite location of thesethings; he tells us just where they are: "Seek those things which areabove, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." That issuffcient. The things above, are just where God and Christ have theirglorious abode. There is the holy city. New Jerusalem, with itsrainbow of precious foundation stones underlying its jasper wall; there

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are its gates of pearl, and its streets of gold; there is the tree of life, andthe river of the water of life; there is the true tabernacle, pitched notby man, but by the living God, where our great High Priest is nowministering for us; there is the great original of the ark, the mercy-seat,and the tables of testimony, inscribed with the great law of Jehovah;there is the throne of God and the Lamb, and there the manymansions of the Father's house, made ready for those who are foundprepared when the Lord shall return, to be taken with him.It is the things above that we are to seek. How shall we seek them?The next verse explains: Set your affection, your mind, your earnestdesire, upon things above. And is it necessary for the apostle to exhortus to do this? Must a people so prone as we are to set our affections onthe blighted and perishing things of this earth, when we have revealedto us the incorruptible, the surpassing, and unfading glories of heaven,which may be had by seeking - must such a people be exhorted beforewe will turn our attention to them? Not when faith in the reality andcertainty of these things is lively and strong. Lord, increase our faith,and give us an earnest of the inheritance prepared for thy faithfulfollowers.6It is supposed by some that the expressions used in connection withthe record of man's creation, are such as to show that he has animmortal soul, or is an immortal being. Let us candidly examine themto see if such is really what they teach.The frst of these expressions is the opening testimony of the Bibleconcerning man, which asserts that he was to be made in the image ofGod. Gen. 1:26,27: "And God said, Let us make man in our image,after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fsh of the sea,and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So Godcreated man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;male and female created he them."The frst impulse of a person unacquainted with this controversywould be to ask in astonishment what this has to do with theimmortality of man; nor would his astonishment be in any wisediminished when he heard the reply that "as God is immortal, manmust be immortal also" because made in his image. Has God, then, noother attribute by immortality, that we must confne it to this? Is not6

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Dec. 10, 1861

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God omnipotent? - Yes. Is man? - No: Is not God omnipresent? - Yes.

Is man? - No. Is not God omniscient? - Yes. Is man? - No. Is not Godindependent and self-existent? - Yes. Is man? - No. Is not Godinfallible? - Yes. Is man? - No. Then why single out the one attributeof immortality, and make the likeness of man to God consist wholly inthis? In the form of a syllogism, the popular argument stands thus:Major Premise: God is immortal. 1 Tim. 1:17. Minor Premise: Man iscreated in the image of God. Gen. 1.27. Conclusion: Therefore man isimmortal.This is easily quashed by another syllogism equally sound, thus:1. God is omnipotent.2. Man is made in the image of God.3. Therefore man is omnipotent.This conclusion, by being brought within the cognizance of ourown senses, becomes more obviously, though it is not more essentially,absurd. It show earlier that the argument for immortality drawn fromthe "image" of God, is unqualifed assumption, or that puny and fniteman is clothed with all the attributes of the Deity.In what respect, then, is man in the image of his Maker? The onlycorrect and safe rule of interpretation, applying to language in theBible as well as elsewhere, is to allow every word its most obvious andliteral import, unless some plain reason exists for giving it a mystical orfgurative meaning. The plain and literal defnition of "image" (see anygood lexicon), is, "An imitation, representation, or similitude of anyperson or thing, sculptured, drawn, painted, or otherwise madeperceptible to the sight; a visible presentation; a copy; a likeness; aneffgy." We have italicized a portion of this defnition as containing anessential idea. An image must be something that is visible to the eye.How can we conceive of an image of anything that is not perceptibleto the sight, and which we cannot take cognizance of by any of thesenses? Even an image formed in the mind must be conceived of ashaving some sort of outward shape or form. In this sense the word isused in the thirty-one times of its occurrence elsewhere in the OldTestament.The second time the word "image" is used, it is used to show therelation existing between son and father, and is a good comment onthe relation which Gen. 1:26,27 asserts to exist between man andGod. Gen. 5:3: "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, andbegat a son in his own likeness, after his image." Every one would at

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once understand by this language, physical resemblance, and

similarity of nature. Now put the two passages together. Moses frstasserts that God made man in his own image, after his likeness; and afew chapters farther on he asserts that this same man begat a son inhis own likeness, after his image. And while all must admit that thislatter includes bodily form or physical shape, the theological schoolstell us that the former, from the same writer and with no intimationthat it is used in any other sense, must refer solely to the attribute ofimmortality. There is no room for any other conclusion than that justas a son is, in outward appearance, the image of his father, andpossesses like mental and moral characteristics, so man possesses, notthe attributes of God in all their perfection, but a likeness, or image, ofhim in his physical form and moral nature.It may be said that the word "image" is used in a different sense inthe New Testament, as, for example, in Col. 3:9,10: "Lie not one toanother, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; andhave put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after theimage of him that created him." Granting that the word here refersonly to the inward nature, instead of the outward from, it must stillever be borne in mind that the point which popular theology has toprove is that man is immortal because in the image of God. This textis against that view; for that which is here said to be in the image ofHim that created him, is not the natural man himself, but the newman which is put on, implying that the original image had beendestroyed, and could be restored only in Christ. If, therefore, it meantimmortality as used by Moses, this text would show that thatimmortality was not absolute but contingent, and having been lost byman, can be regained only through Christ.Eph. 4:24 shows how this new man is created: "And that ye put onthe new man, which after God is created in righteousness and trueholiness." Nothing is said about immortality even in connection withthe new man. It is simply a new moral nature.Again: the word here translated image is defned by Greenfeld asmeaning, by metonymy, "an exemplar, model, pattern, standard; Col.3:10." No such defnition as this is given by Gesenius to the word inGenesis. So, though this Greek word may here have this sense, itaffords no evidence that the Hebrew word in Gen. 1:26,27 refers toimmortality, and may not be confned to man's outward form andmoral nature.

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The same reasoning will apply to 1 Cor. 15:49, where the "imageof the heavenly," which is promised to the righteous, is somethingwhich is not in possession of the natural man, but will be attainedthrough the resurrection: "We shall also bear the image of theheavenly." It cannot, therefore, refer to the image stamped upon manat his creation, unless it be admitted that that image, with all itsincluded qualities, has been lost by the human race, - an admissionfatal to the hypothesis of the believers in the natural immortality ofman.In 1 Cor. 11:7 we read that man, as contrasted with woman, is "theimage and glory of God." To make the expression "image of God"here mean immortality, is to confne it to man, and rob the better partof the human family of this high prerogative.In Gen. 9:6 we read: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shallhis blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."Substituting what the image is here claimed to mean, we should havethis very singular reading: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood [or takethman's life], by man shall his blood be shed [for his life be taken]: forimmortal made he man," so that his life could not be taken. Evidentlythe reference in all such passages is not only to "the human facedivine," but to the whole physical frame, with its mental and moralcapabilities, which, in comparison with all other forms of animatedexistence, is upright and godlike.But here the mystical interpretation of our current theology hasthrown up what is considered an insuperable objection to this view;for how can man be physically in the image of God, when God is nota person, is without form, and has neither body nor parts? In reply weask, Where does the Bible say that God is a formless, impersonalbeing, having neither body nor parts? Does it not say that he is a spirit(John 4:24)? - Yes; and we inquire again, Does it not say that theangels are spirits? Heb. 1:7,14. And are not the angels, saying nothingof those instances in which they have appeared to men in bodily form,and always in human shape (Gen. 18:1-8, 16-22; 32:24; Hos. 12:4;Num. 22:31; Judg. 13:6,13; Luke 1:11,13,28,29; Acts 12:7-9, etc.,etc.), - are not the angels, we say, always spoken of as beings havingbodily form? A spirit, or spiritual being, as God is, in the highest sense,so far from not having a bodily form, must possess it, as theinstrumentality for the manifestation of his powers. 1 Cor. 15:44.Again: it is urged that God is omnipresent; and how can this be, if

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he is a person? Answer: He has a representative, his Holy Spirit, by

which he is ever present and ever felt in all his universe. "Whithershall I go," asks David, "from thy Spirit? or whither shall I fee fromthy presence?" Ps. 139:7. And John saw standing before the throne ofGod seven lamps, which are declared to be "the seven Spirits of God,"and which are "sent forth into all the earth." Rev. 4:5; 5:6.We now invite the attention of the reader to a little of the evidencethat may be presented to show that God is a person, and so that man,though of course in an imperfect and fnite degree, may be an image,or likeness, of him, as to his bodily form.1. God has made visible to mortal eyes parts of his person. Mosessaw the God of Israel. Ex. 33:21-23. An immaterial being, if such athing can be conceived of, without body or parts, cannot be seen withmortal eyes. To say that God assumed a body and shape for thisoccasion, places the common view in a worse light still; for it isvirtually charging God with a double deception: frst, giving Moses tounderstand that he was a being with body and parts; and secondly,under the promise of showing himself, showing him something thatwas not himself. And he told Moses that he would put his "hand" overhim as he passed by, and then take it away, that he might see his"back parts," but not his "face." Has he hands? has he back parts? hashe a face? If not, why try to convey ideas by means of language?Again: Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders sawthe God of Israel. Ex. 24:9-11. "And there was under his feet as itwere a paved work of a sapphire stone." Has he feet? Or is the recordthat these persons saw them a fabrication? No man, to be sure, hasseen his face, nor could he do so and live, as God has declared. Ex.33:20; John 1:18.2. Christ, as manifested among men, is declared to be the "image"of God, and in his "form." Christ showed, after his resurrection, thathis immortal, though not then glorifed, body had fesh and bones.Luke 24:39. Bodily he ascended into heaven, where none can presumeto deny him a local habitation. Acts 1:9-11; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 8:1. ButPaul, speaking of this same Jesus, says, "Who is the image of theinvisible God, the frst-born of every creature." Col. 1:15. Here theantithesis expressed is between God, who is invisible, and his "image"in the person of Christ, which was visible. It follows, therefore, thatwhat of Christ the disciples could see, which was his bodily form, wasthe image to give them an idea of God whom they could not see. This

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of course would not exclude the moral attributes manifested by Jesus,

but which could not be manifested without some bodily organization.Again: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equalwith God." Phil. 2:5,6. It remains to be told how Christ could be inthe "form" of God, and yet God have no form.Once more: "God, who at sundry ties and in divers manners, spakein time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last daysspoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of hisglory, and the express image of his person," etc. Heb. 1:1-3. Thistestimony is conclusive. It is an inspired declaration that God has apersonal form; and to give an idea of what that form is, it declares thatChrist, just as we conceive of him as ascended up bodily on high, isthe express image thereof. It said that the word "person," should herebe rendered "substance." But this does not affect the conclusion in theleast; for if there is substance, there must be shape, and the onlyindication given in the Bible of what that shape is, is the human form.The evidence already presented shows that there is no necessity forsupposing that the image of God, in which man was created, consistsof immortality; and Paul, in his testimony to the Romans, foreverdestroys the possibility of making it apply to immortality. He says(Rom. 1:22,23): "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image madelike to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, andcreeping things." The word here rendered "uncorruptible" is the sameword that is translated "immortal," and supplied to God in 1 Tim.1:17. Now if God by making man in his image, stamped him withimmortality, man is just as uncorruptible as God himself. But Paulsays that he is not so; that while God is uncorruptible, or immortal,man is corruptible, or mortal. The image of God does not, therefore,confer immortality, though it does indicate the high organization andgodlike nature of man.7Although we noted in the outset that the light of nature and reasonis insuffcient to decide the immortality of the soul, yet as there are afew points to which some may be fondly cleaving, in the belief that thedoctrine can be fairly demonstrated therefrom, it may not be amiss to7

Here and Hereafter, pp. 29.1-36.2

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briefy notice them. The frst is the argument drawn from

immateriality. The soul, it is claimed, is immaterial, and henceimmortal in its nature. Having progressed so far as we have in thisinvestigation, this point need not detain us long. We reply, then, 1. Weneither know what matter is, nor what spirit is, but only some of thequalities of each. 2. Where is the proof that the soul is immaterial? Itcertainly is not drawn from nature, for all nature is material; it is notdrawn from reason, for reason cannot comprehend the existence ofimmateriality; it cannot be drawn from revelation, for that expresslydeclares that man is dust. We do not mean to be understood that themind is material; but we do claim that all vital and mental phenomenaresult from material causes.But, allowing the utmost latitude to this view, it equally proves thesouls of all animals, fshes, reptiles and insects immaterial; for theyremember, fear, imagine, compare, manifest gratitude, anger, sorrow,desire, etc. Bishop Warburton expressly says, "I think it may be strictlydemonstrated that man has an immaterial soul; but then, the samearguments which prove that, prove, likewise, that the souls of all livinganimals are immaterial." Whoever, therefore, affrms the immortalityof man from the immateriality of his soul, is bound to affrm the same,not only of the nobler animals, but also of all the lower orders of thebrute creation. Here, again, believers in natural immortality arecrushed beneath the weight of their own arguments. If it be said thatGod can, if he choose, blot from existence the immaterial soul of thebeetle and the titmouse, we reply, so can he that of man; and then itsimmortality is at an end, and the whole argument abandoned.8The opposition preaching has turned and established some in thepresent truth. We entertain no fears of those "good ground" hearerswho learn of our faith with a full determination to live it out, being"turned from the holy commandment delivered unto them." (theSabbath;) but only such as love the traditions of men, as Sundaykeeping and other unscriptural doctrines that are not in the Bible atall, such as an immaterial God without body, the Son of God being hisown father, heaven beyond space, that is nowhere, with an immaterialimmortal soul just like God, being part of God himself, going toheaven or hell at death, that is, a part of God going to hell, then to becalled out of hell to be united with the body to be sent back again to8

Mortal or Immortal? Which?, p. 24.2-24.3

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remain to all eternity to die the death that never dies, while therighteous may live the life that never lives. 9

A.T. Jones"I GO to prepare a place for you." Where did Jesus go? Luke tellsus that on the day of His ascension, "It came to pass, while he blessedthem, he was parted from them, and carried up into Heaven." Luke24:51. On the same occasion Mark says: "So then after the Lord hadspoken unto them, he was received up into Heaven, and sat on theright hand of God." Mark 16:19. When Stephen was about to die, hesaid, "Behold, I see the Heavens opened, and the Son of man standingon the right hand of God." Acts 7:56. Jesus then has gone to Heavenwhere God is, and he has gone there to prepare a place for hisdisciples,for all who put their trust in him. Heaven, therefore, is aplace, and not an imaginary, immaterial, intangible nothing, "beyondthe bounds of time and space." The people of God are to be taken to areal place. "That I may excise those that love me to inherit substance,"saith Wisdom. Prov. 8:21. And Paul says that a certain people tookjoyfully the spoiling of their goods, "knowing in yourselves that yehave in Heaven a better and an enduring substance." Heb. 10:34.There is then in Heaven a substantial place for the believers in Godand in Christ.10

George StorrsWhat is immateriality? Strictly speaking it is, not material - notmatter. In other words - it is not substance. What is that which has nosubstance? - What kind of creation is it? If the Creator formed "allthings out of nothing," it would seem that man's soul has taken theform of its original, and is nothing still; for it is not matter, we are told.If it is said - "It is a spiritual substance" - I ask, What kind of substanceis that, if it is not matter? I cannot conceive, and I do not see how it ispossible to conceive, of substance without matter, in some form: itmay be exceedingly refned. I regard the phrase, immaterial, as onewhich properly belongs to the things which are not: a sound withoutsense or meaning: a mere cloak to hide the nakedness of the theory of9 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 22, 185810 Signs of the Times, Aug. 19, 1886

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an immortal soul in man; a phrase of which its authors are as

profoundly ignorant as the most unlearned of their pupils.11

J.H. WaggonerAngels are Real BeingsThe angels of God are not mere incorporeal phantoms, as isgenerally taught. They are real personal beings, possessing form andsubstance. The tendency of investigation, in the present day, is towardSpiritualism; there is, on almost every hand, a needless and veryunreasonable prejudice existing against the idea that all created beingsmust be material. The Spiritualistic view is not at all the theory of theScriptures.On this point J. H. Kurtz, doctor of theology, has some justremarks in "Bibel and Astronomie," chap. 4, sec. 14, on 1 Cor. 15:40.He says; "We cannot conceive of a creature without a body, becauseeverything created can only as creature live, act, and exist in spaceand time, and it is bodily form alone which binds the creature to spaceand time." "If we conceive of the angels as being ever so spiritual andheavenly, ever so exalted over the obnoxious laws of our bodily form,over the hindrances of our grosser substance, still they are creatures,and must, as such, pay the tribute of bodily form, be this ever soethereal, fne, and incomprehensible to our senses." "Therefore increation, bodily form is the condition of all existence."To the same intent Zeller's Bible Dictionary, art. "Angels," says:"They are not without body, as we cannot very easily conceive of anycreature without bodily form; but they have a higher, fner, etherealbodily form, which is according to the heavenly world system to whichthey belong."The same idea is taught in many instances where the angels arementioned in the Scriptures. Isaiah describes them as possessing aface, feet, wings, etc.: I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, highand lifted up, and His train flled the temple. Above it stood theseraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, andwith twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fy." Isa. 6:1, 2.Ezekiel also describes them in a similar manner. Of the cherubim hesays: "And their whole body [margin, "Heb., fesh"], and their backs,and their hands, and their wings, and their wheels, were full of eyes,"11 Six Sermons on the Inquiry Is There Immortality in Sin and Suffering?, p. 29

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having hands, feet, wings, etc.In Gen. 18:1-8 we read: "And the Lord appeared unto him[Abraham] in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door in theheat of the day, and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, threemen stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them fromthe tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, Mylord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee,from thy servant; let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and washyour feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will fetch a morselof bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on; fortherefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thouhast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said,Make ready quickly three measures of fne meal, knead it, and makecakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcheda calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and hehastened to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf whichhe had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them underthe tree, and they did eat."Here it is said that they did eat the food which Abraham preparedfor them. That they were angels, we learn from what follows: "Andthe men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; andAbraham went with them to bring them on the way." Two of themwent on to Sodom. "And there came two angels to Sodom at evening;and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meetthem; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and hesaid, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant'shouse, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise upearly, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide inthe street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and theyturned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them afeast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat." Gen. 19:1-3.Here those who met Abraham are called angels. They arerepresented as having hands and feet; and it is said they did eatmaterial food, which shows that they were material beings. It seems,also, that angels have food expressly prepared for their use. Davidsays: "Though he had commanded the clouds from above, andopened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna upon themto eat, and given them of the corn of heaven. Man did 'eat angels'

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food." Ps. 78:23-25. Manna is here called the grain of heaven, and thefood of angels. Therefore, angels do eat food, and are material beings.We could not imagine that immaterial beings should eat materialfood, such as the manna which God sent from heaven.This idea is further sustained by the fact that Jesus, after Hisresurrection, had fesh and did eat. At His appearing to His disciples,He said: "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handleMe, and see; for a spirit hath not fesh and bones, as ye see Me have."Luke 24:36-43.But Jesus is the frst fruits, the example of the saints in theresurrection. He ate with His disciples; and so He promised them thatthey shall eat and drink with Him in His kingdom. See Matt. 26:29;Luke 12:37; 22:16, 18, 29, 30. And speaking of the new earth, wherethe immortal saints shall dwell, the Lord says; "From one Sabbath toanother, shall all fesh come to worship before Me." Isa. 66:23. Thesaints will be called fesh in the kingdom of God. And as Christ is, andthe immortal saints will be, material, so also we conclude that theangels are material beings.In the history of Balaam we have an interesting incident bearingupon this point. Thus we read: "And God's anger was kindled becausehe went; and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversaryagainst him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servantswere with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in theway, and his sword drawn in his hand, and the ass turned aside out ofthe way, and went into the feld; and Balaam smote the ass, to turnher into the way." "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and hesaw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn inhis hand." Num. 22:22-31. The angel appeared to Balaam with asword drawn in his hand. Spiritualists tell us that the angel created hisbody and the sword, for the occasion, out of the materials whichsurrounded him, making it appear like a body and a sword when therewas none. Then the angel really deceived Balaam, leading him tothink that he had a body and a sword when he had none; and therecord deceives the reader in the same manner. But it will be observedthat the record says, "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, andhe saw the angel," and not that the angel created an appearance thatmight be seen.As soon as Balaam's eyes were opened, he saw the angel. The ideais conveyed clearly that the angel was just the same before Balaam saw

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him as he was afterwards. This is further evident from the fact that thebeast could see the angel, while Balaam could not see him. Withregard to this occurrence, one of two things is true, either the angelhad a material form before the eyes of Balaam were opened so that hecould see him, or the dumb brute saw an immaterial spirit. The lastwill scarcely be claimed; therefore it must be acknowledged that theangel was there in his own bodily form before Balaam saw him.An objector says, "If the angels are material, how can it be thatthey can be present and be seen at one moment, and not seen the nextmoment, while occupying the same position?" It is not correct to claimthat all matter can be seen. Air is material, but its presence is notdetected by the eye, though it is by other senses. Much of theprejudice upon this subject arises from not duly considering the almostinfnite diversity of forms under which matter may appear. Here it is aball of mud, and there it is a fne gold watch. Both are material, buthow different! Here is a piece of ice, and there is a jet of the hotteststeam. Each seems to be exactly the opposite of the other; yet they areonly different conditions of the same matter. One is water frozen; theother is water highly heated. So some matter we see in a gross form,and some most exquisitely organized. Still it is all matter, and thesame matter may be visible at one time and invisible at another, as isthe case of water converted into steam and dissolved in the air.An objection is raised on the fact that angels are called spirits. Heb.1:13, 14. But there is no just ground for the objection. The saints willhave bodies after their resurrection, yet they will be spiritual bodies."It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:44.On this point Dr. V. Baader, Anthropolog. Schr., remarks: "A spiritwithout body is also, according to the Scriptures, simply a shadow,and in this sense the Scriptures are all the way through materialistic,in opposition to the spiritualism of the moderns; only they placeimperishable matter everywhere in contrast with the perishablematter." And so also Rudolph, in Die Lehre Vom Menschen, says:"The Holy Scriptures do not know of any formless being or life."These remarks are truthful, as every careful reader has perceived. Nota text in the Bible can be produced which teaches the existence of aformless or immaterial being.12

12 Angels: Their Nature and Ministry, pp. 10.2-16.2

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R.F. CottrellMan Made in the Image of GodWe take two plain and positive statements of the word of God,place them side by side, and draw a simple, legitimate conclusion.1. "God formed man of the dust of the ground."2. "God created man in his own image, in the image of Godcreated he him."CONCLUSION. That which was formed of dust was made in theimage of God.But it is objected that God is "without body or parts," andtherefore this conclusion must be erroneous; that man was morally inthe image of God. That his likeness to God must be a moral likeness.That man was like God in moral character, or in his attributes, orboth. Those ministers that say, as many do, that man lost the image ofhis Creator, in his fall, must refer to man's moral character; for theydo not wish to be understood that he lost the immortality of the soul.Now man could have no real, positive moral character, till he hadformed it, by his own action in reference to moral law. When frstcreated, his character was not formed. He was innocent, and waspronounced very good; but it could not then be said to him, "Welldone;" for he had done nothing to form a character either way. Butman was made in the image of God. Then, if we understand it ofmoral image, it could mean nothing more than innocence. The tiger,and every four-footed beast, were equally innocent, were "very good;"but it is evident they were not created in the image of God. Man'sinnocence, then, was not what distinguished him, as being in theimage of God."Admitted," says an objector; "but the image of God was found inthe natural attributes of the soul. Thus:1. Man was made in the image of God. 2. But God is immortal. 3.Therefore man was made immortal.Now, my friend, if that argument is good and sound, anotherformed upon the same plan would be equally good. But by formingsyllogisms after your pattern we might make it appear that man isomnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent; yes; and further, that man"only hath immortality," for this is affrmed of God.This mode of arguing proves too much; therefore it provesnothing. Hence, we must take the most simple and obvious conclusion,

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namely; that man was made in the form of God. Christ was in the"form of God," and is the "express image of his Father's person." Col.1:15; Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:3. In Gen. 9:6, we read, "Whoso sheddethman's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of Godmade he man." And an apostle says, that men "are made after thesimilitude of God."Daniel says of the Father, "The Ancient of days did sit, whosegarment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool;his throne was like the fery fame, and his wheels as burning fre.Chap. 7:9. John describes the Son as follows: "One like unto the Sonof man, clothes with a garment down to the foot, and girt about thepaps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool,as white as snow; and his eyes were as a fame of fre; and his feet likeunto fne brass, as if it burned in a furnace." Rev. 1:13-15. Acomparison of these scriptures would give us the idea that the Son hadthe personal appearance of the Father."That view is grossly material," says one.If it is so, the fault is in the Bible. Why not say fnely material? We"believe that God is:" others say they believe he is - immaterial. We donot say that he is of the earth, earthy: but man thus formed of the dustof the earth, was made in the image of God. This fact has no bearingon the question of the immortality of the soul.13We do not teach that "the soul sleeps with the body in the grave!We believe, that man is a unit--that soul and body are not separatebeings; but that it takes the whole body soul and spirit, if you please, toconstitute a living man or soul. The living man became subject todeath on account of sin, no part being exempt, and there is no remedybut the resurrection. "If the dead rise not, then they that have fallenasleep in Christ are perished" See 1 Cor. 15:16-18.You represent us as teaching "that the fnal Heaven of the saints isto be a sort of Garden of Eden restored; with all its material andvoluptuous delights." You must be aware that the Scriptures promise arestitution--a new Heavens and a new earth--and also the resurrectionof the body. And where is the evidence that a resurrected, spiritualbody is immaterial--that it has not "fesh and bones" as our Lord hadafter his resurrection? Why should material men sigh forimmateriality? Can we not, while we are here in our feshly bodies,13 The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Nov. 24, 1863

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worship God in spirit and in truth? Some such true worshipers wereon the earth in the time of our Saviour; for he says, "But the hourcometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship theFather in spirit and in truth." We need not become immaterial inorder to worship God aright.14The Creation of ManIF man has an immortal soul, it would be reasonable to look forsome information concerning it in the account given of his creation.We could not think that the most important part of man - that withoutwhich man would not be man - should be left entirely out of thataccount. Then let us read the record."And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a livingsoul." Gen. 2:7.Perhaps there is no argument more relied on to prove theimmortality of the soul (for the Bible nowhere asserts it), than thatwhich is drawn from its immateriality. It is held that that which is,properly speaking, the man, is immaterial, that is, composed ofnothing, and that that which is immaterial cannot die, therefore manis immortal. Where did they get this so valuable information? Fromwhat source did they learn that immateriality could not die? Not fromthe Bible, for it says nothing about it. Do you say, Reason teaches it?How did human reason discover that that which is immaterial canlive, but cannot die? that God has created beings material andimmaterial, that he can destroy one class, but cannot destroy theother, because it is immaterial?But if the real man, the soul, is immaterial, only dwelling in amaterial house, the author of the text above quoted made a greatmistake; for he says, God formed man of the dust of the ground. Andhe further declares that the man thus formed of dust, when the breathof life was added, became (not an immaterial and immortal, but) aliving soul. If the man proper is immaterial, this is a very improperaccount of him: for it not only neglects to tell us that he wasimmaterial, but, on the contrary, states the material of which he wasformed. And instead of telling us that an immaterial soul was put intothis dust, it declares that the man thus formed of dust, became a livingsoul when life was given. The soul was the man, and the man was the14 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Nov. 7, 1865

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soul: and the man was formed of the dust.

God knows the end from the beginning. And the reason heinspired Moses to write this account of the formation of man, was,doubtless, that he foresaw that men would be deceived with thisdoctrine of immateriality, and fattered with the idea of his naturalimmortality, and thus be prepared for the seductions of the Devil, andled on, through spiritualism, to reject the word of God and the hope ofthe gospel - immortality through Christ. The inspired account ofman's creation puts an everlasting veto on this doctrine ofimmateriality, with those who believe, with full assurance, the word ofthe Lord. O, that men would believe! It would save them from beingpuffed up with the idea that they are naturally immortal, warn themof the awful whirlpool of spiritualism which threatens to engulf them,and make them willing to accept of immortality through Jesus Christ,the only name given under heaven whereby they can be saved.15Infdelity is Infdelity StillMan without the Bible is like a mariner upon a vast ocean withoutchart or compass, whose point of destination is utterly unknown tohim, and, consequently, having no port to gain and no means offnding it if he had, he is the sport of every wind until he is wrecked insome storm or sinks to the bottom from a leak. And yet proud man,fancying himself immortal while he rejects his only hope ofimmortality, that which is brought to light through the gospel andoffered to him through a crucifed Redeemer, endeavors tophilosophize away the dread reality of death, transform it into afriend-a most benignant arrangement to break the monotony of earthlife, and afford them a delightful transition to a higher life on thepeaceful shores of immateriality, where pleasures never cloy andwhere the freed spirit, which is now puffed up nigh to bursting withpride, may expand to all eternity without danger of ever coming incontact with anything else!While Satan has been persevering in his efforts to persuade menthat the frst lie he ever uttered to our race, namely, "Ye shall notsurely die," is the truth, he has been equally laborious, and successfultoo, in infating the mind with the other idea advanced at the sametime: "Ye shall be as gods." Pride, self-exaltation, is the naturalattendant of the doctrine of natural immortality; and this is a chief15 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Oct. 27, 1863

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reason why men are unwilling to hear the Bible on this question.Their self-conceit makes them unwilling to learn the fact that they are"but men," but "dust and ashes," whose "days are as grass." whose lifeis "a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanishes away."They think they are degraded-brought down to a level of the brutes,when they are told that they have no immortality out of Christ: andthis fact, appearing more and more apparent to the Bible student,furnishes a new pretext for discarding that sacred Book.Infdelity, which was wont, in time past, to deny the existence ofGod and consign man, at death, to blank nothingness, denying afuture life altogether, has, in these last days, seized upon the popularfable of the natural immortality of the soul, and is battling against theBible and its Divine Author, with all the assurance and audacity ofconscious immortality independent of Christ and the resurrection.Instead of denying the existence of God, now everything is God, orthere is a certain something or nothing called immateriality, whichpervades every part of the universe, and this is their God-everywherein general and no where in particular-a thing of nought-nonentity. Itamounts to the doctrine of no God.But they themselves, in their fancied immortality, are the greatestgods they know of or care for; and they bid defance to every powerthat would bring them to an account. Such is the full-ripe fruit of thedoctrine of the natural immortality of man. Christian, pause andconsider whether you are sustaining the foundation of this last phaseof infdelity.16"Materialism."Under this heading, the Sabbath Recorder, the organ of the S. D.Baptists, recently published an essay, prepared by D. E. Maxson,which, from the following expression of his, I conclude was notintended for that class of infdels generally called Materialists, but forthe especial beneft of Sabbath-keeping Adventists, or for those whoare in danger of becoming such. Of what he is pleased to callmaterialism, he says, "It is at the basis, the very corner-stone, of thecreed of a whole denomination of Christians rapidly growing up inthis country; and for palpable reasons, growing more rapidly here inthe West than elsewhere, and seeking by certain affnities to linkthemselves with Seventh-day Baptists." From this I think he refers to16 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Aug. 16, 1864

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S. D. Adventists; and yet in quoting authors on our side of the

question, in order to make a show of fairness by giving our own words,not a words is taken from any writer of our denomination. But certainones are quoted, some of whom seem to be wise above that which iswritten; and then, from such expressions of theirs as these: "Man isentirely dependent upon his (physical) organization for all histhoughts," and the "mind" is an "attribute of living organized dust," heseems to infer a proposition which none of these writers affrm, viz:"All mental phenomena are the result of organization." He thenproceeds to combat this creature of his own creation in the followingmasterly style."Let us pursue this wonderful method of thought-producing into itslaboratory, and see if we can catch a glimpse of the process by whichthought is produced. Here, then, is a human bone to be organized. Ithas carbonate of lime, phosphorate of lime, gelatine, etc., in itsconstitution. In the carbonate of lime are three simple elements,carbon, oxygen, and calcium. To produce the lime, the oxygen andcalcium must unite; this they do by the strong affnity of the one forthe other. This is organization-that process which originates all mentalphenomena, according to the hypothesis under consideration. Nowlook out for a thought! Perhaps the immortal Illiad will come forth, fora particle of oxygen is going to unite with one of calcium to make abone. The wonderful union is consummated, and lime is organized.Did you see the thought that was produced? Did you see the limethink? There was organization, and 'all mental phenomena areconsequent upon organization,' says the Materialist."The Materialist says so, for aught I know, but I have had noacquaintance or connection with him. And I venture the assertion thatno professed Christian can be found, who holds that the "process" oforganization "originates all mental phenomena," or ever producedone thought. Did not our essayist know that he was beating not somuch as the air, but a phantom of his own imagination? And yet herepresents that a denomination of "Christians" hold such views; andone might infer that he thought his own denomination badly infectedwith such ideas; for he says, "A gross materialism is sapping thefoundation of our spiritual life, and shivering down the soul of man toits own earth-born nature."Now, Bible Christians believe that the frst man of our race wasperfectly and completely organized, his brain as well as the rest, and

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yet that he had not a thought till the will and life-giving power of hisCreator made him a living soul. The faith of such does not stand inthe wisdom of men, nor in the workings of natural affnities of deadmatter, but in the power of God. Our creed says, "God formed man ofthe dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;and man became a living soul." Living souls are capable of thought;though not always the best. But our creed further says of man, "Hisbreath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day histhoughts perish." Our essayist made but the slightest allusion to thiscreed; his argument was altogether what is termed philosophical.I will notice one of his chief arguments, and conclude my remarks.I call it his principal argument, because he seems to think it the mostimportant, having put it in the form of a syllogism "for the beneft ofany who may wish to combat it." He says,1. Substances, all of whose phenomena are different, are themselves different;2. The phenomena of matter and mind are different;3. Therefore matter and mind are different."Whatever, then, matter is, mind is something else, or not matter."Now, since the major premise is based on a law fundamental in allphilosophy, if the reasoning be faulty, it must be in the minor premise.Are the phenomena of matter and mind different, then? If you affrmthat they are alike, then you and I will go to the laboratory and testtheir qualities. I will take an apple, and you shall take a thought. If theapple and the thought are alike, i. e., if they are both matter, then thesame test will apply to both; they will have the same qualities. Nowbegin. I hold the apple up between my thumb and fnger. Now youhold your thought up between your thumb and fnger. I press theapple, and fnd it hard. Do so by the thought. I see the apple; it is redand round. What color and shape is your thought? I bite the apple; itis sour. How does your thought taste? Smell of it; is it fragrant? Now Ilet go the apple, and it falls to the foor; it is heavy. Now let go yourthought; is it heavy? O, Materialist, your materialism is heavy. It willfall, whether you let go or not."We have now tested the truth of my minor premise. Thought is aphenomenon of the mind. Color, form, etc., are phenomena ofmatter, and they are as unlike as things can possibly be; and thereforemind and matter are as unlike as they can be; and therefore materialism, which affrms that mind is matter, is as untrue as it can be.

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"That part of man, then, which thinks, and feels, and wills, notbeing matter, is consequently neither dependent upon matter forexistence, nor subject to any of the laws which govern matter. Physicaldissolution, then, of the body, can affect only the body, having noeffect whatever upon the mind, in respect of its essential essence orqualities. What it was before the death of the body, it must remainafter that event-essentially a thinking, willing, and feeling entity."A vastly large conclusion to draw from so small premises. Mypony's thoughts are different from his body; they do not present thesame phenomena. And sometimes when he comes to cross-roads, hechooses and wills to take the road that he thinks leads toward home.Yet I never though of inferring such astonishingly large conclusionsfrom these facts. Our friends of the opposite side of the question,always forget to take the thoughts of the inferior animals into thelaboratory for a test and comparison with human thoughts. We, as apeople, cannot answer for others, but our materialism never "affrmsthat mind is matter;" and we doubt very much the propriety ofpacking us in the same box with infdels, and then condemning the lot.But to discover the fallacy of my friend's reasoning, I inquire, Dothoughts think? I remember of reading in the old spelling-book,"Thinkers think thoughts." Thinkers and thoughts are two things.Take a thinker then to the laboratory, i. e., one who thinks, and youwill fnd him possessed of as many palpable qualities as your apple. Isit the mind that thinks? But what is a man's mind but his thoughts?My friend speaks correctly. He speaks of "matter and mind," and thenas a specimen or sample of each, he takes an apple and a thought. But,says my friend, "Thought is a phenomenon of the mind. Color, form,etc., are phenomena of matter." Then we have not had a fair test, andwe must go again to the laboratory. As I have only a thought, aphenomenon of something that has no appearance, you shall leaveyour apple behind, and take only some of its phenomena-its color orform, its sourness, its hardness or its heaviness. Now hold up yourshape of an apple between your thumb and fnger. Press it; is it hard?Look at it, taste it, smell it, weigh it. What is the difference between itand a thought? If you are dissatisfed with this test, and must haveyour apple, I will take a man, one of whose attributes is mind, orthought, and then we will have a fair test. We shall fnd that livingmatter is decidedly in advance of dead matter in its qualities andcapabilities. "A living dog is better than a dead lion."

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We have no controversy with our friends of the opposition in

respect to there being a difference between mind, or thoughts, andmatter. We do not claim that mind is matter; and those who wouldfairly oppose our views should cease to misrepresent us. Theconnection between matter and mind is a mystery, which neither ourfriends nor ourselves are able to explain. Neither do we know howmatter can be endowed with animal life. But we know that life isconnected with material organizations, and that matter thus endowedis vastly superior, in its susceptibilities, to dead matter. This ourfriends seem entirely to forget. Their philosophic reasoningsconcerning matter, all relate to dead matter. Dead brains cannotthink. So they come to the conclusion that immaterial thought canhave no connection with matter, but must be the product of animmaterial soul, which comes in between the mind and matter, anddoes the thinking; making a chain of two immaterial links and onematerial. They are not aware that it is just as diffcult to connect thismiddle link-this immaterial soul with matter, as it is to connectimmaterial thoughts with the same; and yet they hold that this soul isconnected with matter, and they have never been able to discover onethat was not, although they claim to have just such a soul themselves.They leave out of the controversy the wisdom and power of God,which can as easily connect immaterial thoughts, as an immaterialsoul, with matter, and pursue a course of reasoning which, if valid,would make it just as necessary for horses and dogs to have immaterialsouls to connect their immaterial intelligence with their materialbodies; and if immateriality is a proof of immortality, man, who boastsof his immortality, is, in this respect, no better than the brute.The world by wisdom does not yet know God. All that we know ofthe mysterious connection between mind and matter, or concerning afuture life, is what he has seen ft to reveal to us in his word. And sinceour wisdom or folly cannot improve this revelation, we shall do betterto accept of it as it is. That word tells us plainly that man who wasmade of dust, on receiving the breath of life, became a living soul. Ofthe immaterial, immortal soul it says nothing. On the contrary, it callsman mortal, with no part excepted, but promises him a future life bymeans of a resurrection of the dead, and immortality on condition ofhis seeking for it in the way of faith and obedience. Our philosophicfriends may imagine that they aid the belief in a future life through theresurrection, by proving that man is immortal independent of it; but

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the effect of their reasoning must be to weaken faith in it, by making it

appear that there is no need of it-that man is immortal without it, andcan feast his "immortal mind" on all the joys of Paradise, should hiscorruptible "clay tenement" never be brought up from the dust. And itis having this effect. Thousands upon thousands are coming to denythe resurrection and reject revelation, as the legitimate fruit of theirfaith in the natural immortality of man. Did our Christian friendsrealize the real tendency of their efforts in behalf of naturalimmortality, they would drop their vain philosophy, and maintain thefaith of a future life through the resurrection of the dead, instead ofasserting that there can be no resurrection of an individual, if he isreally and wholly dead. Why should it be thought a thing incrediblewith them that God should raise the dead? But they virtually deny hispower to endow animated matter with thought, and positively declarethat he cannot raise the dead, if consciousness has ceased, and all thisin the face of innumerable facts of the cessation of consciousness,while the person was living.But while we mourn over the fact that our friends are unwittinglyaiding the cause of Spiritualism, the present, and most popular form ofinfdelity, and therefore the most dangerous; they, in turn, feel deeplyover our supposed tendency to ancient, materialistic, Epicurean,infdelity, a thing that has had its day and run its race, is unpopular,and is now discarded even by Satan himself; he having discovered amore plausible form of deception for this age, suited to the prevailingphilosophy.Who are in danger of being deceived? Where lies the truth? Not inhuman philosophy or wisdom, either ancient or modern, but in theword of God. May Heaven aid the honest inquirer to lay aside humanwisdom, and receive that word in its native simplicity, harmony, andbeauty, and thus escape the subtle snare, which Satan has been solong weaving for this last generation.17

D.M. CanrightPERSONALITY OF GODAnother convincing proof that God is a real person, having a formand parts, is the fact that man is said to have been made in the imageof God.17 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Nov. 15, 1864

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And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; so God created man in his own image, in the image of God createdhe him; male and female created he them. Gen. 1:26, 27. If man wasmade in the image and likeness of God, then we know how God looks,what shape he has; he is in the shape of man. A poor evasion isattempted here, by asserting that it is the spirit of man that is in theimage of God. But the texts says no such thing. It says, Let us makeman in our image. Then we are told how this was done: And theLord God formed man in the dust of the ground. Gen. 2:7. Of whatdid God form man? It was directly said that he was formed of the dustof the ground. Very well; then that which was formed of the dust ofthe ground is in the image of God. Gen. 9:6 confrms this fact:Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for inthe image of God made he man.If a man killed a beast, was he to die for that? No; but if he shedthe blood of a man he must die. The reason is stated: For in theimage of God made he man, i.e., he has killed and destroyed thatwhich is made in the image of God. Now the question is, what has hekilled? Not an immortal spirit of soul, but the body, that which hadblood, that which was in the image of God. Hence it is the body whichis in the image of God.The words image and likeness are thus defned by Webster:Image, n. 1. A representation or similitude of any person or thingformed of a material substance: as, an image wrought out of stone,wood or wax. 2. A statue. Its meaning is plain. It is a representationof something else in the same form. Likeness, n. Resemblance inform; similitude. The picture is a good likeness of the original. 2.Resemblance; form: external appearance. 3. One that resemblesanother; a copy; a counterpart. Plainly, then, an image or likeness isthat which is in the form of, and looks like, that which it is torepresent. Man is in the image and likeness of God; hence God has abody in form like that of a man.Let us now turn to the Bible, and fnd the meaning of the wordimage as it is there used. It will be found that every time it refers tosomething that has a form, a real substance, a shape.Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you upa standing image, neither shall ye set up an image of stone in yourland, to bow down unto it; for I am the Lord your God. Lev. 26:1.And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed. 1 Sam. 19:13.

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And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the houseof God. 2 Chron. 33:7 Thou, O king, sawest, and beheld a greatimage. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood beforethee; and the form thereof was terrible. Dan. 2:31. Nebuchadnezzarthe king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits,and the breadth thereof six cubits. Dan. 3:1. And he saith untothem, Whose is this image and superscription? Matt. 22:20. Ye menof Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city ofthe Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of theimage which fell down from Jupiter? Acts 19:35. I have reserved tomyself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to theimage of Baal. Rom. 11:4. Saying to them that dwell on the earth,that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound bythe sword, and did live. Rev. 13:14. Wherefore ye shall makeimages of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land.1 Sam. 6:5. For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, theimages of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermillion. Eze. 23:14.Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness ofanything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, orthat is in the water under the earth. Ex. 20:4.All these texts abundantly show that in Bible language an image issomething that has a real form and shape. Man is made in the imageof God the man that was made of the dust, too. Gen. 2:7God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful fesh, and forsin, condemned sin in the fesh. Rom. 8:3Here it is defnitely stated what part of man constitutes the likeness.Sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful fesh. It is his fesh,then, in which the likeness consists. Phil. 2:5-8 is absolutely decisiveupon this point. Let this mind be in you which was also in ChristJesus: who being in the form of God. Here we stop to ask how Christcould be in the form of God, if God had no form. But Jesus was in theform of God; hence the argument is conclusive that God has a form.Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equalwith God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him theform of a servant (man), and was made in the likeness of men; andbeing found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, etc. Here it isdeclared that Christ was in the form of God, in the form of a servant,in the likeness of man, in the fashion of man. We know that this washis body; for Christ was both in the form of God, and in the form of

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man. Then God and man both have the same form.Of Jesus Paul says, Who being the brightness of his glory, and theexpress image of his person. Heb. 1:3. It is the person of God, then,of which Jesus was the image. Then God has a person. Now what isthe meaning of the word person? It seems that on so simple a word asthis there could be no mistake. It does not and cannot mean animmaterial, intangible, shapeless, formless essence. It always means anintelligent being, having a body, shape and form.Again we appeal to the word of God. Let us carefully read a fewplain scriptures where the word person is used; and it will be seen thatit always means an individual with an organized shape and form.Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. Gen. 14:21.And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, andsprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon thepersons that were there. Num. 19:18. And he slew his brethren thesons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons. Judges 9:5I have seen a son of Jesse, . . . a comely person. 1 Sam. 16:18.And Dorg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slewon that day fourscore and fve persons that did wear a linen ephod. 1Sam. 22:18. Wicked men have slain a righteous person in his ownhouse upon his bed. 2 Sam. 4:11. That thou go to battle in thineown person. 2 Sam. 17:11 Likewise the fool and the brutish personperish. Ps. 49:10. There was not one feeble person among theirtribes. Ps. 105:37. a man that doeth violence to the blood of anyperson shall fee to the pit. Prov. 28:17. And every person thatNebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left. Jer. 43:6. He carriedaway captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons.Jer. 52:29. Thou wast cast out in the open feld, to the loathing of thyperson, in the day that thou wast born. Eze. 16:5. And they shallcome at no dead person. Eze. 44:25. For thou regardest not theperson of men. Matt. 22:16. I am innocent of the blood of this justperson. Matt. 27:24. Therefore put away from among yourselvesthat wicked person. 1 Cor. 5:13. But Noah saved the eighthperson. 2 Peter 2:5.By these passages we fnd what the Bible means by the wordperson. It never means a being without body, parts, or passions. Nowthe Bible, after using the word person hundreds of times in the senseindicated above, says that God is a person. We believe it, and are

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willing to leave it there.18

THE PERSONALITY OF GODGod is a real person, having a body, form, and local habitation.Man is made in his image. The God of the Bible is not a mereprinciple, an essence or soul of the universe, but he is a real, personalbeing, having a body, form, shape, and local habitation, a throne, etc.But let us listen frst to what the creeds say of him. The MethodistDiscipline, in its articles of religion, Art. 1, says:-There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body orparts.The articles of faith of the Episcopal church are even worse. Art. 1says:-There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body,parts, or passions. Other creeds go still further, and say that he iswithout center or circumference. In all candor, I submit that such adescription of God annihilates him entirely. He has no body, no parts,no passions, dwells nowhere in particular, has no center, nocircumference. If a man were called to describe a nonentity, he couldnot do it more perfectly that it is done in the above language.But notice further, these same creeds teach that Jesus Christ is thevery and eternal God. Thus Art. 2 of the Episcopal creed says:-The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten fromeverlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substancewith the Father, etc. Now notice that this Son of God is the very andeternal God himself. And then it continues: took man's nature in thewomb of the blessed virgin, of her substance, so that two whole andperfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, were joinedtogether in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ,very God and very man.Art. 4 says:-Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body,with fesh, bones, and all things pertaining to the perfection of man'snature, wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth until hereturn to judge all man at the last day.Several queries present themselves here: is Christ the very andeternal God? So they say. Did Christ have a body? This theypositively affrm. Is he inseparably connected with that body? and has18 Review and Herald, Sept. 12, 1878.

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he not that body in Heaven? This they plainly declare. Is he not thetrue God? So they say. Then has not the true God a body? This thecreed directly says. Then certainly God has a body-- occupies abody.Why then do the creeds say that he has no body?Again we are told by these creeds that God is everywhere, as muchin one place as another, and no more in one place than another. Butthe Bible says that Jesus ascended up on high, and is at the right handof the Father. Did he ascend everywhere? Was his body divided intoinnumerable particles, and scattered throughout the universe? If theFather is everywhere and nowhere in particular, where did Jesus go?Again it is claimed that saints at death go to Heaven, where God is.Do they go everywhere, and nowhere in particular? All this seems tome to be the sheerest nonsense. It is opposed to common sense and tothe Bible. No; God is a person, a real being.I do not believe that any person, whatever his creed may be, everprays to God without conceiving of him as having a body, form, andshape, being located upon a throne in Heaven. When he closes hiseyes upon the world and begins to pray to God, he immediately looksup to Heaven by faith, and beholds God upon his throne in the formof a man, and prays to him as such. Nor is this merely imaginary. TheBible has everywhere so described him; and it is from these oftrepeated descriptions that these ideas are formed. Then either thewhole tenor of the Bible misleads us, or else our position is true.Furthermore, how could a person pray with any intelligence to amere essence, a mere principle, and an immaterial spirit that had nobody, parts, or shape, that was just as much in one place as inanother? The idea is absurd. Then, again, what the Bible says of goingto God and coming from God takes for granted that he is a personalbeing, located in a defnite place. Let us read a few scriptures.Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended tomy Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend untomy Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. John20:17. Jesus said that he was about to ascent to God.Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, andthen I go unto Him that sent me. John 7:33. And her child wascaught up unto God, and to his throne. Rev. 12:5. To Cornelius theangel said, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorialbefore God. Acts 10:4.Hundreds of texts like these occur throughout the Bible; but they

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would neither be true nor sensible if God is a mere essence, an

immaterial spirit, as much in one place as another. How many timeswe read in the Bible of angels coming from God. Jesus says of himself,I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, buthe sent me. John 8:42. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given allthings into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went toGod. John 13:3. I came forth from the Father, and am come intothe world; again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. John 16:28.This last texts is very expressive. I came forth from the Father,says Jesus, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, andgo to the Father. Is the Father, then, just as much in the world asanywhere? If so, how could Christ come forth from the Father bycoming into the world, and again go to the Father by leaving theworld? No; the Father is just as much a personal being as a man is. Hehas a personal presence. Thus Gabriel says, I am Gabriel, that standin the presence of God. Luke 1:19. Then God has an an immediatepresence which is not everywhere. Where did Gabriel come from? Hecame directly from Heaven. Is the presence of God everywhere? How,then, could Gabriel say that he stood in the presence of God morethan anyone else? True, there is one sense in which God iseverywhere. We will notice this by and by. Again: I say unto you,that in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Fatherwhich is in Heaven. Matt. 18:10. Here, again it is said that the angelsin Heaven behold the face of the Father. Then how many scores andhundreds of times it is declared in the most emphatic andunmistakable language that God is in Heaven, and not upon earth.Says the wise man, God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. Eccl.5:2. Our Saviour taught his disciples to pray, Our Father which artin Heaven. Matt. 6:9. Why say, Which art in Heaven, if he is asmuch in the earth, and in the sea, and everywhere, as he is in Heaven?Furthermore, it is many times positively declared that he sits upona throne in Heaven. We will read a few passages. The Lord hathprepared his throne in the Heavens. Ps. 103:19. The Lord is in hisholy temple, the Lord's throne is in Heaven. Ps. 11:4In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upona throne, high and lifted up, and his train flled the temple. Above itstood seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered hisface, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fy.And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of

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hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isa. 6:1-3. How explicit isthis text. The prophet saw the Lord sitting upon a throne. Hedescribes that throne, and the angels standing by it, and tells what theangels said.So Jesus says, And he that shall swear by Heaven, sweareth by thethrone of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Matt. 23:22. Thenthe throne of God is in Heaven, and God sits upon that throne. Is thethrone of God everywhere? Is it on this earth? Is it in America? Is it inthe State of New York? Is it in the city of Rochester? No; But it is inHeaven, and God sits upon it.In Rev. 4:2-5 we read:-And immediately I was in the Spirit; and, behold, a throne was setin Heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to lookupon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow roundabout the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about thethrone were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four andtwenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on theirheads crowns of gold. And out of the the throne proceeded lightningsand thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of freburning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.Indeed, we might read on through the whole chapter. It is a minutedescription of the throne of God, of God's person, of angels, and of theliving creatures around that throne. If all this is denied one might aswell deny the whole Bible.Once more: After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, whichno man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, andtongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed withwhite robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice,saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and untothe Lamb. And all the angels stood around about the throne, andabout the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne ontheir faces, and worshipped God. Therefore are they before thethrone of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he thatsitteth in the throne shall dwell among them. Rev. 7:9-11, 15.This is in strict harmony with all the Scriptures, and it is also inharmony with common sense.It is declared that God sits between the cherubim. The Lordreigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubim; letthe earth be moved. Ps. 99:1. The said he, These are the two

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anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Zech. 4:14.The Scriptures described God as a person, having a form, theshape of a man. Daniel, in his vision of God, describes him thus: Ibeheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit,whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like thepure wool. Dan. 7:9. God is here described as having a head andhair.Ezekiel, in his vision of the throne of God, says:-And above the frmament that was over their heads was thelikeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphires stone; and uponthe likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a manabove upon it; and I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance offre round about within it, from the appearance of his loins evendownward, I saw as it were the appearance of fre, and it hadbrightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of theglory of the Lord. Eze. 1:26-28. This is the living creature that I sawunder the God of Israel by the river Chebar. Eze. 10:20.To Moses the Lord said:-Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me, andlive. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shaltstand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passethby, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee withmy hand while I pass by; and I will take away mine hand and thoushalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen. Ex. 33:20-23.No man can see the Lord's face. Then he has a face. But he said, I willput thee in a cleft of the rock, and will pass by, and thou shalt see myback parts, and he did so. Now was this all a farce, a deception? Didthe Lord deceive Moses, and make him think he had a face, andhands, and parts, when he had none? No, indeed. Then God hasparts, notwithstanding the creeds say he is without body or parts.Again we read: Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, andAbihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God ofIsrael, and there was under his feet as it were a paved work ofsapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. Andupon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand; also theysaw God, and did eat and drink. Ex. 24:9-11. Here it is positivelydeclared that they saw the God of Israel, it tells what was under hisfeet, and how he looked. They saw his shape and form, but did not seehis face, for God has said that no man should see his face and live.

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All through the Scriptures God is described as a being in the form

of man. Thus he is said to have a head, and hairs of his head, Dan.7:9; and hands, Ex. 33:22; feet, Ex. 24:10; loins; Eze. 1:27; face, Matt.18:10; hearth, Gen. 6:6; parts, Ex. 33:23; a form, Phil. 2:6; shape,John 5:37; person, Heb. 1:3; soul, Jer. 5:9; and spirit, Matt. 12:28.Thus it is declared that God has all the members and parts of a perfectman. This is not said once, not twice, but many times, not in parablesand symbols, and fgures, but directly and plainly.19

James WhitePersonality of GodMAN was made in the image of God. "And God said, Let us makeman in our image, after our likeness." "So God created man in hisown image, in the image of God created he him." Gen. 1:26, 27. Seealso chap. 9:6; 1 Cor.11:7. Those who deny the personality of God,say that "image" here does not mean physical form, but moral image,and they make this the grand starting point to prove the immortalityof all men. The argument stands thus: First, man was made in God'smoral image. Second, God is an immortal being. Third, therefore allmen are immortal. But this mode of reasoning would also prove manomnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and thus clothe mortalman with all the attributes of the deity. Let us try it: First, man wasmade in God's moral image. Second, God is omnipotent, omniscient,and omnipresent. Third, therefore, man is omnipotent, omniscient,and omnipresent. That which proves too much, proves nothing to thepoint, therefore the position that the image of God means his moralimage, cannot be sustained. As proof that God is a person, read hisown words to Moses: "And the Lord said, Behold there is a place byme, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, whilemy glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and willcover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away minehand and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen."Ex. 33:21-23. See also chap. 24:9-11. Here God tells Moses that heshall see his form. To say that God made it appear to Moses that hesaw his form, when he has no form, is charging God with adding tofalsehood a sort of juggling deception upon his servant Moses.But the skeptic thinks he sees a contradiction between verse 11,19 Review and Herald, Sept. 5, 1878

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which says that the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, and verse 20,which states that Moses could not see his face. But let Num. 12:5-8remove the diffculty. "And the Lord came down in the pillar of thecloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron andMiriam, and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words.If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself knownunto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servantMoses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will Ispeak mouth to mouth, even apparently."The great and dreadful God came down, wrapped in a cloud ofglory. This cloud could be seen, but not the face which possesses moredazzling brightness than a thousand suns. Under these circumstancesMoses was permitted to draw near and converse with God face toface, or mouth to mouth, even apparently.Says the prophet Daniel, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down,and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,and the hairs of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like thefery fame, and his wheels as burning fre." Chap. 7:9. "I saw in thenight visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with theclouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they broughthim near before him, and there was given him dominion and gloryand a kingdom." Verses 13, 14.Here is a sublime description of the action of two personages; viz,God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. Deny their personality, andthere is not a distinct idea in these quotations from Daniel. Inconnection with this quotation read the apostle's declaration that theSon was in the express image of his Father's person. "God, who atsundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto thefathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by hisSon, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also hemade the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and theexpress image of his person." Heb. 1:1-3.We here add the testimony of Christ. "And the Father himselfwhich hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heardhis voice at any time, nor seen his shape." John 5:37. See also Phil.2:6. To say that the Father has not a personal shape, seems the mostpointed contradiction of plain scripture terms. OBJECTION. - "Godis a Spirit." John 4:24.ANSWER. - Angels are also spirits [Ps. 104:4], yet those that

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visited Abram and Lot, lay down, ate, and took hold of Lot's hand.They were spirit beings. So is God a Spirit being.OBJ. - God is everywhere. Proof. Ps. 139:1-8. He is as much inevery place as in any one place.ANS. - 1. God is everywhere by virtue of his omniscience, as willbe seen by the very words of David referred to above. Verses 1-6. "OLord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest mydown-sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afaroff. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquaintedwith all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, OLord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind andbefore, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderfulfor me. It is high; I cannot attain unto it."2. God is everywhere by virtue of his Spirit, which is hisrepresentative, and is manifested wherever he pleases, as will be seenby the very words the objector claims, referred to above. Verses 7-10."Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I fee from thypresence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bedin hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, anddwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand leadme, and thy right hand shall hold me."God is in heaven. This we are taught in the Lord's prayer. "OurFather which art in heaven." Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2. But if God is asmuch in every place as he is in any one place, then heaven is also asmuch in every place as it is in any one place, and the idea of going toheaven is all a mistake. We are all in heaven; and the Lord's prayer,according to this foggy theology simply means, Our Father which arteverywhere, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will bedone, on earth, as it is everywhere.Again, Bible readers have believed that Enoch and Elijah werereally taken up to God in heaven. But if God and heaven be as muchin every place as in any one place, this is all a mistake. They were nottranslated. And all that is said about the chariot of fre, and horses offre, and the attending whirlwind to take Elijah up into heaven, was auseless parade. They only evaporated, and a misty vapor passedthrough the entire universe. This is all of Enoch and Elijah that themind can possibly grasp, admitting that God and heaven are no morein any one place than in every place. But it is said of Elijah that he"went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2 Kings 2:11. And of Enoch it

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is said that he "walked with God, and was not, for God took him."Gen. 5:24.Jesus is said to be on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Heb.1:3. "So, then, after the Lord had spoken unto them he was receivedup into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:19. But ifheaven be everywhere, and God everywhere, then Christ's ascensionup to heaven, at the Father's right hand, simply means that he wenteverywhere! He was only taken up where the cloud hid him from thegaze of his disciples, and then evaporated and went everywhere! Sothat instead of the lovely Jesus, so beautifully described in bothTestaments, we have only a sort of essence dispersed through theentire universe. And in harmony with this rarifed theology, Christ'ssecond advent, or his return, would be the condensation of thisessence to some locality, say the mount of Olivet! Christ arose fromthe dead with a physical form. "He is not here," said the angel, "for heis risen as he said." Matt. 28:6."And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them,saying, All hail! And they came and held him by the feet, and theyworshiped him." Verse 9."Behold my hands and my feet," said Jesus to those who stood indoubt of his resurrection, "that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for aspirit hath not fesh and bones as ye see me have. And when he hadthus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while theyyet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have yehere any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fsh, and of anhoney-comb, and he took it and did eat before them." Luke 24:39-43.After Jesus addressed his disciples on the mount of Olivet, he wastaken up from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight. "Andwhile they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, beholdtwo men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men ofGalilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which istaken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as yehave seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:9-11. J. W.IMMATERIALITYTHIS is but another name for nonentity. It is the negative of allthings and beings - of all existence. There is not one particle of proofto be advanced to establish its existence. It has no way to manifest

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itself to any intelligence in heaven or on earth. Neither God, angels,

nor men could possibly conceive of such a substance, being, or thing.It possesses no property or power by which to make itself manifest toany intelligent being in the universe. Reason and analogy never scanit, or even conceive of it. Revelation never reveals it, nor do any of oursenses witness its existence. It cannot be seen, felt, heard, tasted, orsmelled, even by the strongest organs, or the most acute sensibilities. Itis neither liquid nor solid, soft nor hard - it can neither extend norcontract. In short, it can exert no infuence whatever - it can neitheract nor be acted upon. And even if it does exist, it can be of nopossible use. It possesses no one, desirable property, faculty, or use,yet, strange to say, immateriality is the modern Christian's God, hisanticipated heaven, his immortal self - his all!O sectarianism! O atheism!! O annihilation!!! who can perceive thenice shades of difference between the one and the other? They seemalike, all but in name. The atheist has no God. The sectarian has aGod without body or parts. Who can defne the difference? For ourpart we do not perceive a difference of a single hair; they both claim tobe the negative of all things which exist - and both are equallypowerless and unknown.The atheist has no after life, or conscious existence beyond thegrave. The sectarian has one, but it is immaterial, like his God; andwithout body or parts. Here again both are negative, and both arriveat the same point. Their faith and hope amount to the same; only it isexpressed by different terms.Again, the atheist has no heaven in eternity. The sectarian has one,but it is immaterial in all its properties, and is therefore the negative ofall riches and substances. Here again they are equal, and arrive at thesame point.As we do not envy them the possession of all they claim, we willnow leave them in the quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of the same,and proceed to examine the portion still left for the despisedmaterialist to enjoy.What is God? He is material, organized intelligence, possessingboth body and parts. Man is in his image.What is Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God, and is like his Father,being "the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of hisperson." He is a material intelligence, with body, parts, and passions;possessing immortal fesh and immortal bones.

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Materialism Our Forgotten Foundation

What are men? They are the offspring of Adam. They are capableof receiving intelligence and exaltation to such a degree as to be raisedfrom the dead with a body like that of Jesus Christ, and to possessimmortal fesh and bones. Thus perfected, they will possess thematerial universe, that is, the earth, as their "everlasting inheritance."With these hopes and prospects before us, we say to the Christianworld who hold to immateriality, that they are welcome to their God their life - their heaven, and their all. They claim nothing but thatwhich we throw away; and we claim nothing but that which theythrow away. Therefore, there is no ground for quarrel or contentionbetween us.We choose all substance - what remainsThe mystical sectarian gains;All that each claims, each shall possess,Nor grudge each other's happiness.An immaterial God they choose,For such a God we have no use;An immaterial heaven and hell,In such a heaven we cannot dwell.We claim the earth, the air, and sky,And all the starry worlds on high;Gold, silver, ore, and precious stones,And bodies made of fesh and bones.Such is our hope, our heaven, our all,When once redeemed from Adam's fall;All things are ours, and we shall be,The Lord's to all eternity.20